The present invention generally relates to devices and systems for benefiting the health and efficiency of workers in a workplace, and more particularly, to height-adjustable support surfaces and other devices to encourage health-benefiting movement by the worker.
It is well known that the human body is designed to move and that we do benefit from regular and frequent motion throughout all our activities during each day. The efficiency and health of our circulatory system and our digestive system relies on almost constant movement throughout the day and night—even during our sleep. If a person sits in a chair at a desk for prolonged periods of time without stretching or standing his head will tend to lean forward naturally to try to maintain core balance, which will cause a muscle tone imbalance between the front and rear sides of the body. This results in a high risk of an increase of spinal shrinkage and an increase of intra-disc pressure within the user's spine. This can lead to muscle strain, muscle compression, nerve compression, tendon injury and ligament sprain at the shoulder, the neck, the upper limbs, and the back. This can further result in general musculoskeletal discomfort in the short term and more chronic upper and lower back pain and nerve-damage symptoms in the shoulder, the neck, arms and throughout the back (called: “repetitive strain injury”) in the long term. Other health problems linked to a person regularly sitting for long periods of time include the blocking of the returning flow of venous blood causing blood to accumulate in the legs, in particular in the calves and ankles. Continued strain to such blood vessels will often lead to food edema, muscular discomfort in the legs, and varicosity.
Regardless of the specific injury that may result from sitting for extended periods of time, there is general consensus among physicians and ergonomists that there are clear health benefits to a person who breaks up their day with both periods of standing and periods of sitting at regular intervals.
For over two decades, a number of studies support this. For example, a study by Paul and Helander (1995) found office workers with sedentary jobs showing significantly more spinal shrinkage throughout the day compared to those with less sedentary jobs. They also compared spinal shrinkage with office workers who stood in thirty minute sessions with those who stood for fifteen minute periods. When the spine of each of these test subject workers was measured there was considerably less shrinkage in those who stood for thirty minute intervals. Also, workers in the test that had spinal disorders prior to the test showed a greater variability in the shrinkage pattern.
Another study by Winkle and Oxenburgh (1990) determined the benefits of providing active breaks (standing/moving) versus passive rest breaks (sitting) from the point of view of maintaining the health of muscles and the health of the spine. They found that alternating between sitting and standing was the most effective way to maintain a productive workflow and a healthy spine. The posterior wall of the inter-vertebral disc sustains cumulative degenerative changes when exposed to prolonged periods of high intra-disc pressure associated with flexed or semi-flexed seated postures. In other words, if you sit for long periods of time, you will be more likely to impart stress on your spine and, as a result, be uncomfortable. If you sit and then stand at regular intervals, you will not impart as much stress on your spine.
Nerhood and Thomson (1994) studied the introduction of sit-stand workstations at United Parcel Service (UPS). Results showed workers averaged 3.6 adjustments to standing position per day and spent an average 23% of the time per day in a standing position. They found body discomfort decreased by an average of 62% and the occurrence of injuries and illnesses decreased by more than half.
Unfortunately for their health, a typical office worker is forced to spend most of their day working in an environment that demands very little body movement. Sitting in a chair at a desk for hours at a time is not uncommon here and quite often the only movement such a worker will experience while at work will stem from the rapid, albeit slight movement of their fingers, hands and wrists as they operate their computers and phones while “comfortably” seated. A typical worker will not only sit most of their day while at work, but also will sit during their commute between work and home and also when eating their lunch. This may lead to them being in a seated position for upwards to 9-11 hours each day, and often for long uninterrupted periods of time.
This health concern was addressed decades ago with the introduction of a so-called “Sit-Stand” desk—an electrically-powered desk whose working surface can be power-raised and lowered as desired by the user. Unfortunately, these early electric sit-stand desks were cost prohibitive and not sufficiently commercially attractive for most companies to adopt. Eventually however, these powered desks did find their way into the workplace in limited quantities to a select few companies, such as high-end design firms and law firms.
A major problem with the early sit-stand desks and even those currently available today is that they lack intelligence. Yes, they can move up and down and up again, but only when commanded to do so by the user. Human nature prevails rather quickly and soon after the initial novelty and fun wears off of having such a “cool” desk, the user either forgets to raise or lower their desk at regular intervals throughout the day or simply loses interest, typically ending up sitting the whole day, once again. Therefore in short time, the very expensive high-tech sit-stand desk becomes just a sit-desk, and apart from the cost, essentially no different from the very desks it just replaced.
This problem was addressed to some degree in US Patent Publication No.: 2008/0245279 of Chun Ming Pan, published Oct. 9, 2008, now abandoned and also U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,695 of Borgman et al. Both of these patent references disclose height-adjustable workstations (so-called “sit-stand desks”) that have a working platform (a top) that can be selectively raised and lowered as desired by the user in a manual mode, and also raised and lowered automatically at predetermined intervals. The devices disclosed in these references do allow for a reminder to the user to sit and stand regularly, but the devices are still considered basic in operation and lack intelligent operational software. Like prior art height-adjustable workstations, these workstations do not “read” biometrics of the user or take into account other environment conditions that can provide specific and meaningful data. Such data would enable the up-down schedule of the height-adjustable workstation to adapt to the user, both throughout the day and over time.
Applicants of the present application understand that the user's fitness and habits will invariably change over time. Furthermore, Applicants of the present application have recognized a need for a “smart” height-adjustable workstation that responds to user-changes and other conditions and parameters by adapting or modifying its operation accordingly.
It is therefore a first object of the invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
It is another object of the invention to provide a useful, affordable power-assisted sit-stand desk that encourages and motivates regular use.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a power-assisted sit-stand desk that is able to measure or otherwise detect select biometrics of the user to help control current and future operation and functions.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a power-assisted sit-stand desk that senses and collects user data over time and communicates the same to a local display and to a second location for secondary use.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a power-assisted sit-stand desk that controls its operation in response to the detection of a user's presence.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a power-assisted sit-stand desk that controls operation in response to detection of sound within the immediate area of the desk.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a power-assisted sit-stand desk that allows height control in response to a single touch command by the user.